"Harry!" Maribella whisper-shouted, stepping out and leaving the door ajar behind her. "What are you doing here?"
Her friend, wide-eyed and looking unnerved, stood equipped with his trunk and Hedwig's empty cage. "I'm sorry," Harry said. "I had nowhere else to go, I've left the Dursleys' and—"
"No, no, it's fine," Maribella reassured. In truth, she was quite relieved it was him and not some crazy murderer. "But, I mean— how did you get here?" Harry was alone in the darkness, and Maribella couldn't see how he had any possible means of getting to her house.
"I took the Knight Bus."
"Oh." And then she thought about it. "Wait, but to take the bus," she said slowly, "you'd have to call it with magic."
"I- I know," said Harry.
"Harry!" Maribella yelped, slapping a hand to her mouth. Now she really did close the door behind her, so her parents wouldn't hear. "You've done underage magic? But that means- have you been expelled? Is that why you ran away?" She asked, perplexed.
Harry looked overwhelmed with all of her questions, but Maribella was overwhelmed by the need to get all the answers. Her friend had arrived at her house, with no warning in advance, having done illegal underage magic, and she was supposed to just accept it? Nu-uh. Especially not if she'd be hiding an outlaw from the Ministry.
"I- I don't know," Harry said helplessly.
"Oh, Merlin," Maribella said. Well, she couldn't burst into her dining room and ask her Mama, a Ministry employee, to house a Ministry fugitive. So, there was only one thing to do.
"Okay, Harry, listen," Maribella said. "You can stay in my room with me, but we'll have to sneak you in, all right? So here's what we'll do: the back of our house has a wall covered in creeps, you climb those and go in through the window. You'll end up in a bathroom, but my bedroom is just down the hall. We have an enclosure for a litter of Mooncalves nearby, so please, just be caref-"
The door opened with a crash, causing Maribella and Harry to jump. Mr. Piccinni eyed them both.
"Er-hi, Papa," Maribella said weakly. She had an idea, and quickly added."This is the friend who'll be staying with us for a few weeks."
"Maribella," he said, his voice uncharacteristically grave, and that was when Maribella knew something serious was happening. "I think you both should step inside."
But because it was her dad, he couldn't help but clap Harry on the back good-naturally as they passed him. Maribella wished she could have given Harry a proper introduction of her place, but as they rounded to the dining area, Maribella found that her family had company- well, her parents had company, as her siblings were both gone. Really important company, because sitting in her empty chair was the Minister of Magic himself.
"That's the Minister of Magic," Mr. Piccinni whispered to them as an explanation. "He sent a Patronus to warn us he was coming, and we let him use our Floo Network."
What Mr. Piccinni didn't know, however, was that Maribella was completely aware of who that was: Cornelius Fudge. She had met him, if one could call that encounter a meeting, the previous year when he came to Hogwarts to arrest Hagrid. Fudge was a portly little man in a long, pinstriped cloak, and his usual lime green bowler hat was propped on top of his head. Maribella imagined he was under a lot of stress, due to Black's escape and evasion of the law. He did indeed look extremely exhausted.
"Hello," Fudge stood up and shook Harry's hand, then Maribella's. "I am Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic," he introduced himself.
Maribella looked at Harry. Her friend looked as though a bucketful of ice had just been poured on his head.
"Can I get you anything, Minister?" Mrs. Piccinni offered.
"Perhaps a cup of tea," said Fudge. Then he turned to Harry. "Sit, sit." he invited.
Harry looked at Maribella, his face aflame, and sat down in front of Fudge. He looked very uncomfortable, both by the Minister's presence and by being in a foreign place. Fudge cleared his throat, and Maribella held her breath, standing awkwardly to the side with her Papa.
"I should tell you, Mr. Potter," the Minister started, "earlier this evening your uncle's sister was located just south of Sheffield, circling a chimney stack." Maribella's eyes widened, her mouth fell open, and her forehead wrinkled. When Harry had said he had used magic, she imagined it was a simple lighting of the wand to flag down the Knight Bus, not that he had turned his aunt into an unknown flying object.
"The Accidental Magic Reversal Department was dispatched," Fudge continued, "and she's been properly deflated and her memory modified. She has no recollection of the incident."
Did that mean… Harry was going to be expelled?
But Fudge adorned a smile. "So there's no harm done."
"I-"
"Now, Harry," said Fudge, accepting a cup of tea from Mrs. Piccinni, "you've had us all in a right flap, I don't mind telling you. Running away from your aunt and uncle's house like that! I'd started to think… but you're safe and that's what matters." He took a sip. "So all that remains is to decide where you're going to spend the last three weeks of your vacation. I've talked to Mr. and Mrs. er-"
"Piccinni," Mrs. Piccinni informed.
"Yes, yes, thank you," Fudge said, his plumpy cheeks flushing pink. "I've discussed it with Mr. and Mrs. Piccinni, and I understand you are friends with their daughter? Yes, very well, they've allowed you to stay here until school starts."
Harry looked back at Maribella, and she gave him an encouraging smile.
"Well, with that sorted," Fudge said, standing up. "I'll be off, plenty to do, you know…"
With that, the Minister thanked her parents, stepped into the fire, and disappeared.
Mrs. Piccinni cleared her throat.
"Mari, tesoro, why don't you help Harry take his things upstairs to Marco's room? They can share it instead." Mrs. Piccinni shot a pointed look at Mr. Piccinni. "We have… much to discuss."
"Alright, Mama," Maribella said. She motioned for Harry to follow her, each taking an end of his trunk as they went up the circular stairs.
"How do you reckon the Minister found me here?" Harry asked.
Maribella shrugged
"He must have tracked your magic, Harry. Now, don't you worry about that! Can you believe we're spending the rest of summer together?" Maribella beamed at the prospect. "You've a lot of explaining to do, by the way. Did you really make your aunt float all the way to Sheffield?"
"It was an accident," Harry protested.
"Either way, it'll make for an interesting story," Maribella said, finally reaching the second floor and putting his trunk down, breathing heavily. "I'll give you a tour later on," she said. "But for now," she pushed Harry's trunk along the wooden floor, "welcome home!"
She stopped suddenly in front of Marco's room, and Harry bumped into her. She knocked, and a moment later went right in.
Marco, Anna, Tesoro the Kneazle, and Rubeus the rooster, were all staring expectantly up at them, from where they sat on Marco's bed. A mattress had been set up on the floor, which would be Harry's for the following weeks. Perched on top of the wardrobe, was Harry's snowy owl, back from her nightly flight. Harry had barely time to say "Hedwig!" before Tesoro leaped lightly from the bed, stretched, yawned, and sprang onto Harry's legs, pushing him to the ground.
"Tesoro!" Anna cried from the bed, horrified.
"Sorry, Harry," Maribella said, pulling the Kneazle off Harry. "He gets a bit weird with strangers," she glared at Tesoro, but he didn't spare her a glance, licking his paw as if Harry was some nasty thing he had to clean off. At least he seemed to have decided Harry was friend, not foe. Kneazles could be really menacing to those who endangered their families.
Harry stood up, looking bewildered, but okay. Better than okay, even. He had a wide smile etched on his face.
"Harry," Anna said, when she satisfied herself that Harry was alright. "Is it true that you fought a teacher who had You-Know-Who on the back of his head? And that you defeated a memory of You-Know-Who last year? Or-"
"Harry," said Marco. "Can you sign my book?" He shoved his copy of The Harry Potter Storybook for Younglings: A Simplification of History toward Harry.
"Bah-gawk!" Rubeus clucked.
"Oookay," Maribella interrupted, stepping in between Harry and the other members of her family, raising her hands. "Harry's hungry, so we're going down to dinner. Don't follow us!" And with that, she grabbed Harry's wrist, turning on her heel and stalking out of the room.
"I'm sorry about them," Maribella said. "They can be a bit much."
"I love it," Harry reassured.
Blimey. He really was sweet, huh? Maribella knew her siblings were insufferable, and she knew Harry-probably- thought it too, and he still lied to make her feel better.
Their moods, however, darkened considerably as they went down the stairs. A pair of angry voices drifted up to where they were, and Maribella recognized them as her parents, which was odd; her parents rarely, if ever, fought. She put an arm in front of Harry and brought a finger to her lips. Then, as any good, worried child would, she strained to listen in her parents' private conversation.
"... makes no sense not to tell him," Mrs. Piccinni was saying heatedly. "Harry's got a right to know. He's thirteen years old and-"
Maribella and Harry shared a look.
"Maribella is also thirteen! Would you have wanted her to know?" Mr. Piccinni countered. "Harry's under our responsibility now. Do you really want to send him back to school with that hanging over him? For heaven's sake, he's happy not knowing-"
"Ale, we need to put him on his guard!" Mrs. Piccinni reasoned. "You know how they're like, him and Maribella, and their friends; always wandering around and getting into trouble. But they mustn't do that this year, not with Sirius Black still at large! If he hadn't been picked up by the Knight Bus, if he hadn't come here, I-"
"But he is here, Fatima, and we can protect him. We'll secure the premises and recast all our security spells first thing tomorrow, and later on, he'll be at Hogwarts, which is the safest place in the world."
"We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe, and Black was clever enough to escape from there," Mrs. Piccinni whispered urgently. "If he can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts."
"But no one's really sure that Black's after Harry," Mr. Piccinni argued.
"Didn't you hear what Fudge said, Ale? Black lost everything the night Harry stopped You-Know-Who. In Black's mind, only Harry stands in the way of You-Know-Who returning to power. That's why he's broken out of Azkaban. To find Harry. To kill him."
Maribella clapped a hand to her mouth so she wouldn't audibly gasp in horror. Once again her friend was in grave danger.
"Hogwarts has Dumbledore." Mr. Piccinni said. "I don't think anyone could hurt Harry while Dumbledore's at Hogwarts."
They fell into a tense silence.
"Ale," Mrs. Piccinni said wearily, "Do what you think is right."
Maribella looked at Harry, who had been listening intently. His face mirrored the confusion and fear she felt. Neither felt very hungry anymore, and both ended up retreating to their respective rooms.
The next morning, things weren't exactly awkward, but neither were they normal. To ease the tension, Maribella gave Harry a tour of the house.
Her house, though modest, was perfect for her family. It was two stories high, plus an attic, with one looping chimney perched on the brown roof. There was a lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance that read 'THE GROTTA'. All the common areas of the house were on the first floor; there was a kitchen filled with self-working pots and pans on a stone countertop, a dining room adjacent to it, and a comfortable living room.
All the bedrooms were upstairs. Maribella and Anna's suite was on the first door to the right, followed by a bathroom, also on the right, while Marco's room to the immediate left. The master bedroom was at the end of the corridor. However, the most impressive thing about The Grotta, wasn't the actual house, but the remainder of the property, The house was surrounded by an enormous vineyard, a gigantic pond, and a small backyard, where a structure similar to a barn resided; it was there that Mrs. Piccinni kept her animal-caring equipment. To the back of the house, the Piccinni's had constructed a temporary enclosure for the litter of Mooncalves.
The following three weeks were tremendously fun. Harry didn't mind one bit helping Mr. Piccinni with the harvest, even though Maribella had assured Harry didn't have to do anything, and her Papa had just refused to magic all the berries out of the trees because he thought the work built character. Maribella taught Harry how to bottle-feed the baby Mooncalves, and in turn, they took out the old brooms the family kept in the shed, and he taught her how to ride while throwing a Quaffle around.
"You've got a good hang of the broom," Harry said.
"'Course I do, I've been riding my whole life," Maribella said, purposefully ignoring the white-knuckle grip she had on the broom handle. It wasn't that she was scared of flying- definitely not. She was an alright flier but had terrible hand-eye coordination when it came to sports, and was getting flustered.
"Right," Harry said. "But you've got to remember you can't throw your entire body forward when going for the Quaffle," he said, tossing the ball at her.
Maribella raised her arms stiffly, keeping her upper body as still as she possibly could. She completely missed the Quaffle. Maribella huffed, blowing a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail out of her face. Harry flew down a few inches and caught it before it fell on the ground.
"I didn't mean don't move at all, Mari!" Harry reprimanded, but grinned nonetheless. "The broom moves along with you."
He threw the Quaffle back, but Maribella dodged it, streaming directly upwards instead. Harry had a much superior broom, a Nimbus 2000 he had gotten in his first year, and quickly caught up to her. Maribella engaged him into a chase, and they raced over the vineyards, diving in and out of the hedges, laughing loudly.
Marco would sometimes join in their ventures, but he couldn't keep his balance on the broom yet- that meant he was nearly as good as Maribella. Anna insisted on showing Harry her Wiggentree's growth progress every day. Harry helped them release the now-healthy Augurey to the wild, and Maribella and Marco had a good laugh when they sent Harry up to the attic and he came back itching from Doxy-bites (non-venomous, of course). On the August full moon, Harry stayed up with Marco and Anna and taught them how to play Muggle cards.
Eventually, it was time for their annual trip to Diagon Alley. Anna, forever punctual, and even more so when she was looking forward to something, was the first to rise at precisely six o'clock. She had inherited Maribella's patience, or lack thereof (though she was better at hiding it), and was only able to wait for twenty-six minutes before she tried shaking Maribella awake. When that didn't work, she brought in Rubeus, who puffed out his chest, and promptly let out a loud cry. Maribella woke with a start and the girl immediately regretted encouraging the rooster to do that. But Maribella remembered how excited she was to start her own first year, only two years ago, and reluctantly left her bed and started getting ready for the day.
To Anna's dismay, her parents wouldn't allow her to bother the boys, and had to wait nearly an hour for them to wake up by themselves. Then it was a full three-hour wait until the entire family, plus Harry, was ready to depart. In Diagon Alley, Anna was needy and restless for once, and Maribella convinced her family to split up.
"Don't leave Diagon Alley," Mrs. Piccinni ordered, apparently deeming it safe enough for two thirteen-year-olds to walk along a crowded street. "And be at the Leaky Cauldron by noon."
And then Maribella and Harry went to one side, and Anna to the other, which, in all honesty, was just what Maribella had intended. She loved her sister, she really did, but they were opposites in everything; Maribella had the dark eyes and hair, as opposed to Anna's lighter features; where Maribella was jumpy and extroverted, Anna was more collected; Maribella had a profound passion for the art of animal caretaking, whereas Anna favoured activities of the mind.
Once upon a time, when they lived together, they coexisted not only as sisters, but friends. Maribella had been Anna's idol, and they balanced each other out perfectly. Anna always cleaned up after Maribella's messes. But having spent two years more apart than together had taken a toll on their relationship; they had grown into their differences and matured alongside other people. In the process, Maribella had felt they had lost some of their compatibility. Of course, they still loved each other, they were family after all. Maribella had even served as an inspiration to Anna's greatest ambition: the curing of lycanthropy (though Maribella constantly criticized her for it, she was internally very honored). However, even their similarities seemed to be doing nothing but pushing them apart, for they were both hot-headed and explosive.
So Maribella and Harry entertained themselves with small talk about Quidditch, drifting from store to store, buying a new set of robes for Harry, a new quill for Maribella, and finally, their new books for the year.
"Get out of the way," the manager of Flourish and Blotts said impatiently,as they listed the books they'd be needing.
He drew on a thick pair of dragonhide gloves and walked to the back of the store, where a large bird-cage had a few dozen books fighting inside it, all labeled The Monster Book Of Monsters. Maribella hummed excitedly. The angry sentient books were for her favorite class of all, the one she had been looking forward to as soon as she set foot in Hogwarts: Care of Magical Creatures. The manager opened the cage door, leaving just enough space that he could stick his hand in, and without looking, felt for two books. He should've looked, however, because as soon as the books noticed another presence in their cage, they latched onto the poor wizard's arms, biting down viciously, with their hardcovers. The wizard yelped and shook his arm, and the books flailed around, agitated, until there were only two books still clamped to his arm, and the store manager pulled his arm out and gestured for Maribella and Harry to grab them from where they were hanging.
"Er- I already have one of those, sir," Harry said shyly, when Maribella had already taken hers. The manager gave them such a scathing look that they scrambled to pay and leave as quickly as they could.
"I didn't have time to warn him!" Harry complained, as they left the book store and walked side-by-side on the streets of Diagon Alley. He eyed Maribella, who was struggling to keep her copy of the Book of Monsters quiet. "Maybe we should've bought our books last?" Harry asked, amused.
Maribella rolled her eyes, and the book took her momentary distraction as an opportunity to jump out of her arms. It flipped onto its edge and scuttled sideways along the pebbled street, scaring witches and forcing wizards to jump aside as it flapped about. Maribella ran after it, but the darned book was faster than it looked. Finally, the book stopped, as a kind passerby blocked the book's way with their foot. Maribella threw herself onto the book and wrestled with it till she was able to weigh it down and pass both arms around its covers, shutting it with a snap.
"Thanks," Maribella said, standing up. "These here are so hard to-"
But she was cut short, because the kind stranger wasn't just that- it was one of her best friends.
"Ron!" she burst, almost dropping her monstrous school book to hug him. And he wasn't alone, "Hermione!"
"Mari!" Hermione squealed, throwing her arms around the girl, and crushing the Monster Book in between them. "Oh, I wanted to visit so bad, but everything seemed to work out in the end, right?"
Hermione raised her eyebrows and gave Maribella a knowing smile.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Maribella said stubbornly, rolling her eyes and blushing. She turned to Ron.
"I can't believe how tall you've gotten," Maribella complained. "Why does that not happen to me? I grow half an inch a year, at most!"
"Can't help if I'm genetically blessed," Ron said with a shrug.
"Don't let Fred and George hear that," said Hermione, amused.
When Harry finally caught up, having run after Maribella, they were all finally reunited. Hugs were traded, greetings were exchanged, Hermione grilled Harry about having blown up his aunt, while Ron laughed. They questioned Hermione on the three bulging bags, filled with books to the point where its zipper was almost snapping, only to be reminded she'd be taking every single course Hogwarts had to offer.
"Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?" asked Harry, making Maribella cover a chuckle with a cough, though Ron sniggered openly.
"I really want an owl," Hermione ignored Harry, opening her purse. "But I don't think I've got enough galleons for it…"
Maribella had just the solution, though, because last year Maribella and Hermione hadn't gotten each other gifts for Christmas, deciding instead to put their money together to buy themselves something nicer later on. Maribella had kept the galleons in a little bag, and fished it out, stumbling a little under the Monster Book's squirming, and threw it Hermione's way. Hermione scrambled to catch it, and immediately looked up in surprise.
"Mari, no, this is for both of us, and-"
"Hermione, yes!" Maribella affirmed. "Besides," she added excitedly,"I'll be its favorite auntie, it'll practically be half mine anyway!"
"If you're sure…" Hermione said, looking at the bag of money. "Harry's got Hedwig, Ron has Errol-"
"I haven't," said Ron. "Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers." He pulled his pet rat out of his pocket. "And I want to get him checked over," he added, holding him out for them to see. "I don't think Egypt agreed with him."
"He does look a little thinner," Maribella said, scratching his chin. The rat squirmed under her touch, and she stepped back, looking at Hermione instead. "There's a magical creature shop just over there," Maribella said, pointing around the corner. It was her favorite shop in all of the Magical World.
"You could see if they've got anything for Scabbers, and Hermione can get her owl." Harry said.
So they crossed the street, turned around the corner, and entered Magical Menagerie. There wasn't much space inside, because every inch was covered in squawking, jabbering, hissing cages. It was a smelly store, and there were some bird droppings on the floor and scratch marks on the counter. It was perfect.
Ron approached the counter, and Maribella looked around.
There were lines of toads, grouped by colors; purple toads gurgling loudly, red toads coughing up fire, green toads jumping about, and blue toads feasting on dead flies. There was a tortoise with a jewel engraved on its head, and strange markings on its shell, but it didn't seem to be on sale. A group of naked black rats cartwheeled over each other in an open cage, and they'd scurry towards your hand to be petted. A spotted green snake was wrapped around a styrofoam branch that hung from the ceiling. A white hare on a table changed into a silk top hat and back again, with a loud popping noise. There were cats with various degrees of fur-coverage, a noisy cage of ravens, a basket of humming custard-looking blobs, and, on the counter, a double-ended newt was getting checked out by the elderly witch at the counter, as Ron waited for Scabbers' turn.
Maribella redirected her attention to Hermione, who meandered around the owl section.
"There're so many," Hermione said. She sighed as she stopped in front of the enclosure of a barn owl, which spread its wings and shook its feathers demonstratively, but Hermione wasn't impressed and kept on walking. Maribella stopped briefly to stroke the owl's head, then followed after her friend.
"Which one should I get?"
"I don't think I should help you with that, 'Mione" Maribella answered. "It's got to feel right, and only you can decide that."
They were interrupted by a loud screech. A large orange cat came soaring from the top of a high cage, and had landed on Ron's head, then propelled itself at Scabbers.
"NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!" The witch from behind the counter bellowed, but the deed was done, and Scabbers had wiggled his way out of Ron's hand, and fallen to the ground, sprinting for the door. Ron rushed after him, but Maribella didn't follow. She waited for Hermione, who seemed to be entranced by the gorgeous beast that was Crookshanks.
"Sorry about that, ladies," said the witch behind the counter. The poor woman wiped at her forehead and glared at Crookshanks, who sat innocently, licking his paw. "This one's aggressive. No wonder no one's wanted him, with that attitude. Always scaring off my customers..."
"No one wants him?" Hermione said, sounding surprised. "But he looks so charming!"
Maribella looked at him. He had tangled ginger fur, plastered with bits of dry leaves and dirt, as well as a flat face and squashed features. He was gorgeous. Hermione extended her hand, and the cat purred and curled under her touch.
"My," the witch said. "It seems he really likes you… He's never done that with any other customer."
"He has chosen you," Maribella breathed to Hermione.
And at the end, Hermione chose him too, much to the boys', primarily Ron's, surprise. Soon after, Harry and Maribella left to meet up with the rest of her family, and it was time to go home.
A.N.: Hey, everyone! Long time no see, but I'm back on track with this story. Thank you to my beta reader for their wonderful job, and thank you for reading my story. Let me know your thoughts, please!